Photos and
Details of the parachute jump from 102,800 feet
For all you aviation buffs !
Subject:
Just
another American Hero
Joe Kittinger is not a household
aviation name like Neil Armstrong or Chuck Yeager. But what he did for the U.
S. space program is comparable.
On Aug. 16, 1960, as research for the
then-fledgling U. S. space program, Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger rode a
helium balloon to the edge of space, 102,800 feet above the earth, a feat in
itself. Then, wearing just a thin pressure suit and breathing supplemental
oxygen, he leaned over the cramped confines of his gondola and jumped d--into
the 110-degree-below-zero, near-vacuum of space. Within seconds his body
accelerated to 714mph in the thin air, breaking the sound barrier. After
free-falling for more than four and a half minutes, slowed finally by friction
from the heavier air below, he felt his parachute open at 14,000 feet, and he
coasted gently down to the New Mexico desert floor.
Kittinger's feat showed scientists that
astronauts could survive the harshness of space with just a pressure suit and
that man could eject from air craft at extreme altitudes and survive. Upon
Kittinger's return to base, a congratulatory telegram was waiting from the
Mercury Seven astronauts--including Alan Shepard and John Glenn.
More than an four decades later
Kittinger's two world records--the highest parachute jump , and the only man to
break the sound barrier without a craft and live--still stand.
We decided to visit the retired colonel
and Aviation Hall of Famer, now 75, at his home in Altamonte Springs, Florida,
to recall his historic jump.
Joe Kittinger: We got up at 2 a. m. to
start filling the helium balloon At sea level, it was 35 to 40 feet wide and
200 feet high; at altitude, due to the low air pressure, it expanded to 25
stories in width, and still was 20 stories high! At 4 a. m. I began breathing
pure oxygen for two hours. That's how long it takes to remove all the nitrogen
from your blood so you don't get the bends going so high so fast. Then it was a
lengthy dress procedure layering warm clothing under my pressure suit. They
kept me in air- conditioning until it was time to launch because we were in the
desert and I wasn't supposed to sweat. If I did, my clothes would freeze on the
way up.
How
was your ascent?
It took an hour and a half to get to
altitude. It was cold. At 40,000 feet, the glove on my right hand hadn't
inflated. I knew that if I radioed my doctor, he would abort the flight. If
that happened, I knew I might never get another chance because there were lots
of people who didn't want this test to happen. I took a calculated risk, that I
might lose use of my right hand. It quickly swelled up, and I did lose use for
the duration of the flight. But the rest of the pressure suit worked. When I
reached 102,800 feet, maximum altitude, I wasn't quite over the target. So I
drifted for &n bsp;11 minutes. The winds were out of the east.
What's
it look like from so high up?
You can see about 400 miles in every
direction. The formula is 1.25 x the sq. root of the altitude in thousands of
feet. (The square root of 102,000 ft is 319 X 1.25 = 399 miles) The most
fascinating thing is that it's just black overhead--the transition from normal
blue to black is very stark. You can't see stars because there's a lot of glare
from the sun, so your pupils are too small. I was struck with the beauty of it.
But I was also struck by how hostile it is: more than 100 degrees below zero,
no air. If my protection suit failed, I would be dead in a few seconds. Blood
actually boils above 62,000 feet.
I went through my 46-step checklist
;disconnected from the balloon's power supply and lost all communication with
the ground. I was totally under power from the kit on my back. When everything
was done, I stood up, turned around to the door, took one final look out and
said a silent prayer: 'Lord, take care of me now.' Then I just jumped over the side.
What were you thinking as you took that
step?
It's the beginning of a test. I had
gone through simulations many times--more than 100. I rolled over and looked
up, and there was the balloon just roaring into space. I realized that the
balloon wasn't roaring into space; I was going down at a fantastic rate! At
about 90,000 feet, I reached 714mph. The altimeter on my wrist was unwinding
very rapidly. But there was no sense of speed.
Where you determine speed is visual--if
you see something go flashing by. But
nothing flashes by 20 miles up--there are no signposts there, and you are way
above any clouds. When the chute opened, the rest of the jump was anticlimactic
because everything had worked perfectly. I landed 12 or 13 minutes later, and
there was my crew waiting. We were elated.
How about your right hand? It
hurt--there was quite a bit of swelling and the blood pressure in my arm was
high. But that went away in a few days, and I regained full use of my hand.
What
about attempts to break your record?
We did it for air crews and
astronauts--for the learning, not to set a record. They will be going up as
skydivers. Somebody will beat it someday. Records are made to be busted. And
I'll be elated. But I'll also be concerned that they're properly trained. If
they're not, they're taking a heck of a risk.